Alligator Alcatraz Is a 'Huge Step Backward,' Native Tribal Leader Warns

A tribal leader told Newsweek that he and members in the Big Cypress National Preserve of Florida, which is adjacent to the state's Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention center, are seeking legal remedies against officials because environmental efforts are taking "a huge step backward."

Why It Matters

On July 14, the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida filed a motion to join environmental groups in a lawsuit against state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Miami-Dade County and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The suit said the Miccosukee people, who compose 15 active tribal villages and reside within the Big Cypress National Preserve, have lived in and cared for the land "since time immemorial."

"The facility's proximity to the Tribe's villages, sacred and ceremonial sites, traditional hunting grounds, and other lands protected by the Tribe raises significant concerns about environmental degradation and potential impacts to same caused by the construction and operation of a detention facility at the TNT Site," the lawsuit said.

"TNT" refers to the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, which was constructed in the 1970s and opposed by tribal members, conservationists and others. The opposition eventually halted the grandiose project after one long runway was built.

Newsweek has contacted Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for comment.

What To Know

Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress spoke with Newsweek on Thursday on behalf of the tribe's 650 members, saying they had joined environmental groups in their legal action because of major environmental concerns that were conveyed prior to the facility's quick construction and use for illegal migrants.

"If they had listened to our concerns, they would realize that this is actually not a very good idea to put this place in," Cypress said. "There's no infrastructure there, and everything has to be brought in. Basically, they're bringing in generators and cellphone towers."

"And not to diminish what's going on there, but the cost of everything is going to be $450 million a year just to operate the place," he continued. "The governor [Ron DeSantis] as well as the Trump administration have put record amounts of money toward everybody's restoration and to put this project here flies in the face of that. It's a huge step backward for restoration."

Cypress said that like most others, he and tribal members found out about Alligator Alcatraz through the news. By the time they voiced displeasure with state and federal lawmakers, the facility—which DeSantis said can house 3,000 to 4,000 migrants—had basically already opened.

Last month, DeSantis told reporters that the facility would have "zero impact" on the environment.

Following the First and Second Seminole Wars, the Miccosukee people were relocated to about 2.5 million acres of land at the southernmost point of their traditional range that was reserved as Indian Territory in or about 1845.

The "truce was broken," as the lawsuit said, and the U.S. attempted to remove the members from the reserved lands, ultimately forcing the Miccosukee people deeper into the Everglades, which they still inhabit to this day.

"We feel that there has not been any environmental impact study done, no consultation with the tribes that are present in that area," Cypress said. "The Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes, we both have residents that live in the area and traditional camps within the national preserve not too far from the detention facility."

He continued: "We are concerned about the daily lives of our members. We have a lot of members who live there. The increased traffic in that area is a big concern, safety-wise. We're going to have a lot of transported materials that are going to be going through that area now daily. Waste has to go out; supplies have to come in. We're very concerned about that."

The permanence of the structure and nefarious long-term effects on the surrounding wetlands provide additional worries, Cypress added.

In late June, nonprofit organizations Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity wrote in their complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief and a temporary restraining order that the facility "lies within the broader Everglades ecosystem restoration footprint, and any development at that site that disrupts hydrologic connectivity or degrades environmental conditions threatens to undermine the very objectives that these federal and state investments were intended to achieve."

What People Are Saying

Elise Bennett, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Newsweek on Thursday: "This is an incredibly ecologically sensitive system, and the impacts extend far beyond the site. Artificial lights are blazing into the once dark sky, evicting endangered Florida bonneted bats from dark, open night sky they need to hunt insects.

"It's also cutting into essential territory for the endangered Florida panther and increasing the risk of more of these big cats being struck by cars on roads. Contaminants on the site—fuels, wastewater and human refuse—threaten to pollute the sensitive waters surrounding the site on all sides. This place was meant to be a preserve for clean water and wildlife, and the federal and state government have turned it into a dystopian hellscape."

Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades, told Newsweek on Friday: "This mass detention center was ramrodded into the middle of our country's oldest national preserve with no public input, no environmental analysis—and no regard for the billions of dollars invested in Everglades restoration. Our government has gone rogue by ignoring cherished laws that protect our nation's water, wildlife and national parks."

President Donald Trump told reporters when touring Alligator Alcatraz on July 1: "It's known as Alligator Alcatraz, which is very appropriate because I looked outside and that's not a place I want to go hiking. But very soon, this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet."

Democratic Florida Representative Anna Eskamani wrote on Facebook on July 12: "The environmental impact of this facility cannot be overstated—there is new asphalt, thousands of gallons of water used everyday and gas tanks powering generators. No alligators seen but plenty of mosquitoes. No one should be working here let alone detained."

What Happens Next

After an expedited motion was filed on July 11, lawyers for state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told the court the groups did not have a right to tell judges how to proceed, E&E News reported.

On Wednesday, Judge Jose E. Martinez recused himself from the case, which was reassigned to Judge Kathleen M. Williams. The change could cause delays in the case, meaning any potential relief may not come soon.